​BAM!

​Master Teacher Nadia violently smashed her hand on her armrest, creating deep structural creaks on the enchanted wood: "How dare that kid damage his core!" She snapped, her aura flaring with genuine anger at the sheer audacity.

​"It’s indeed bad, we spent a lot of resources placing him in that level." Prince Scott muttered, a slight frown on his face as he calculated the loss of such a valuable, controlled asset.

​"There is nothing we can do now, yes, he is now completely useless." George turned to his older sister, seeking guidance in the shifting situation:

​"What do you plan to do now?" He asked.

​"You already said it, he’s now useless, and there is no place in my academy for such weak people." She said coldly, lightly shaking her head to dismiss the fallen vanguard entirely.

​"Aunty, that young man called Carl... The way he strike from the absolute start, his singular target was to damage Ethan’s core. Not only that, his specific questions... Don’t you think it’s deeply strange?" Princess Carolina asked, turning her sharp, intelligent gaze to Nadia.

​"You mean they’re suspicious of our involvement?" Nadia asked, turning to her niece, who slowly nodded her head in confirmation.

​"What can they possibly do? Once we are done with our preparations, no one will be able to stop the absolute rise of our empire. This entire competition is meaningless to us." Nadia said dismissively, a confident smile forming on her lips as she relaxed back on her seat.

​"If the competition is useless, why send our top students to their death?" George asked in profound surprised, questioning the brutal logic.

​"Aunty did that to strategically avoid rumors... If the Sword Empire suddenly declined, and refused to join the global competition, the other empires will immediately get suspicious and started actively investigating our internal affairs... That would be a massive headache." Carolina explained in a calm, analytical tone, gracefully picked up her porcelain teacup and taking a sip.

​"Hahaha! You’re simply too smart my beautiful Niece, if only my daughter has half your brain." Nadia said with a genuine laugh, her mood lifting instantly at the display of royal cunning.

​"Okay everyone! Let’s welcome the next contestants." Davy’s voice drew the attention of everyone present back to the arena.

​"Blade from the eagle academy and Grace from the Dragon academy."

​The two combatants prepared to step forward, the anticipation rising, when a cold voice cut through the noise.

​"Surrender, there is no need to fight him... You still need training."

​Mirabella’s flat, commanding words stunned the whole Arena. Everyone simultaneously turned to her in profound surprised, staring up at the Dragon Academy’s demoness like she have grown an extra head.

​"Does this girl take this grand competition as a mere child play? And will Grace actually agree--"

​"--I surrender." Grace yelled loudly, her confident words cutting Davy’s commentary completely off.

​"Huh?!" He asked with a deep, confused slight frown, checking the rules on his galaxy bracelet.

​"I said I surrender." Grace repeated firmly, not questioning her Captain for a second, and calmly stood beside Mirabella.

​"Um... This, okay then." Davy stammered for the first time in his long career, slowly nodding his head in disbelief.

​"In this round, Blade won." He announced, his gaze remaining entirely fixed on Mirabella’s unreadable expression:

​’What is this girl planning? Is she aggressively hiding her team’s true strength for the final bracket? But there is no final bracket!’ He thought.

​"Thank you for your Mercy." Blade said with a deep, honorable bow towards the Dragon section, recognizing the disparity, and respectfully got down off the stage.

​"Okay, the next." Davy turned quickly to the massive screen again, desperate to keep the momentum going, as two names locked onto it.

​"Jessica from the sword academy, and Buck from the Eagle Academy."

​The whole audience audibly gasped. Wasn’t this the exact same guy who brutally insulted Jessica earlier? And now, he was perfectly matched with her. Speaking of immediate karma.

​The two fighters got on the grand stage, the atmosphere thick with tension, and Davy yelled:

​"Begin!!"

​The two stood completely upright, both intensely staring at each other’s eyes. After a full minute of suffocating silence, Jessica finally opened her mouth:

​"You said I rely exclusively on tricks." She gave a chilling, cold smile that didn’t reach her eyes:

​"I will reduce my level to match yours--"

​Buck didn’t wait for her to finish. He violently blurred out of existence, completely bypassing her range, and appeared instantaneously before her, swinging his dark dagger directly at her throat.

​BOOOOM!

​".....?!"

​Buck blinked, his momentum disrupted, suddenly noticing what he just physically attacked was indeed Jessica, but it was merely a afterimage. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

​"Just look at yourself? You boldly insulted me, saying I exclusively used underhanded methods, and now, you’re the one aggressively sneaking up on me." Jessica said calmly, standing completely unharmed some distance behind him.

​Buck looked furiously over his shoulder at her, his dark gaze filled with unparalleled rage and absolute hatred.

​"Against you, absolutely everything is acceptable!!" Buck yelled, and shot forward again like a crazed, rabid lion, rapidly swinging his daggers at her in a flurry of lethal strikes, while Jessica effortlessly dodged, smoothly moving backward.

​’This guy is completely filled with killing intent, and irrational rage, but why did he hate Jessica? Did she personally insult him in the past?’ Mirabella thought, closely watching as Jessica flawlessly and lazily dodged all the incoming daggers.

​With every single swing of his daggers, he specifically targeted a fatal area; from the very absolute start, he was blatantly going for the kill, completely ignoring the tournament rules.

​"Ahh!!"

​Buck yelled at the top of his lungs, as a massive, volatile wave of dark energy violently burst out from his core, pushing his speed past his absolute limit, and he shot forward, leaving physical afterimages behind him.

​"Assassin judgement!!" He yelled, unleashing his ultimate skill.

​"This?" Jessica was momentarily stunned, failing to track his sudden acceleration as he moved violently past her guard.

​BAM!!

​Crimson blood spray violently all over the pristine place, profoundly shocking absolutely everyone in the arena; even Mirabella was genuinely shocked by the successful strike.

​".....?!"

​Jessica stood frozen. She slowly raised her trembling hand, touching the deep, stinging cut right on her cheek, her warm blood flowing down her face. For the first time in her entire recorded history, a fellow youngster has greatly and physically injured her.

​"I... I am bleeding?" She asked herself softly. She stared at the blood on her fingers, and instantly, a dam broke in her mind.

​As half of her face became covered in blood, the next moment, terrifying, violently repressed memories violently flashed in her fractured mind. Images of absolute slaughter, of innocent blood splashing all over the place, of a massacre she couldn’t stop. Her previously stoic face instantly turned deathly paled, her pupils shrinking in absolute terror.

​"No. No... No." She stammered in profound horror, her body violently trembling in raw fear, her complete psychological breakdown stunning the entire roaring stadium into dead silent.

"Not again."